The Open University

Making the most of your OU degree ceremony

19 March 2019

The date is booked and the graduation ceremony is looming. The hard work is done and you’re getting ready to cross the stage to cheers and applause as you pick up your degree. But what to expect?! Fear not, because we asked our Instagram alumni community for their best tips on how to make the […]

Research reveals role of Indian Summer Monsoon on global climate stage

18 March 2019

A study by an international research team led by The Open University (OU) has revealed new insights to help understand the historical importance of the Indian Summer Monsoon. The study shows how the Monsoon acted as a conduit for moving heat and moisture during a period of climate transition, thousands of years ago. • Study […]

£1million to research care of child migrants

18 March 2019

A researcher who travelled to ‘the Jungle’ refugee camp in Calais to see how unaccompanied child migrants lived has secured £1million of funding from the Economic and Social Research Council to study the care of lone child refugees. The new research project, which is co-led by The Open University and University College London, will investigate […]

Universities Minister, Chris Skidmore MP, visits The Open University

15 March 2019

Chris Skidmore MP, Minister for Universities, Science, Research and Innovation today visited The Open University campus in Milton Keynes, meeting staff and students. Greeted by Professor Mary Kellett, Vice-Chancellor of The Open University, the Minister was introduced to the OU’s role in society, detailing the reach, scale and diversity of the university. The visit also […]

Imperfect and absurd, the modern literary heroine is a woman of our times

15 March 2019

Sally O’Reilly, Lecturer in Creative Writing at The Open University discusses how the female characters in the books that we read are changing. The way women are portrayed is changing. In film, The Favourite has won numerous awards and features three women, variously wild and untameable, as joint protagonists. Other movies such as The Wife and Can You Ever Forgive Me? show older […]

Schools need to prepare today’s students to tackle global challenges

14 March 2019

Professor Peter Twinning, Professor of Education (Futures) at The Open University discusses why the UK’s school system needs to change. Traditional models of schooling are based on a desire for standardisation and compliance, for a mass of industrial age ‘production line’ workers (with the majority of the small number of leaders and thinkers coming from […]

BBC honours OU in 50th Anniversary celebrations

14 March 2019

In an inspiring address marking the OU’s 50th anniversary celebrations Tony Hall, director general of the BBC, and Martha Lane-Fox, Chancellor of The Open University hosted a special reception to celebrate the unique OU/BBC partnership, its achievements and the shared social mission of both National institutions. The Open University has always had an iconic place […]

OU/ BBC co-productions nominated for Learning on Screen Award

13 March 2019

The NHS: A People’s History and The Fires that Foretold Grenfell, co-produced by the BBC and The Open University’s Broadcast and Partnerships team have been nominated for the 2019 Learning on Screen Broadcast Awards. The NHS: A People’s History Broadcast in Jul 2018, as part of the 70th Anniversary of the NHS, Alex Brooker told the […]

Proving you’re never too glamorous for Science

13 March 2019

Amy King has been a science enthusiast from a very young age. Her school told her that “science isn’t for girls”; she proved them wrong by achieving straight As at college. A university interviewer told her she was “too glamorous to be a scientist”. Since then, Amy has enrolled on a BSc in Natural Sciences […]

Photograph of a person with a notebook and laptop

“Lifelong learning needs to be more than just political rhetoric”

11 March 2019

Prime Minister Theresa May launched a review of post-18 education and funding at Derby College in February 2018. As adult education institutions in England await the publication of the Augar review, Professor Mary Kellett, Vice-Chancellor of The Open University, reflects on the government’s commitment to support lifelong learning in a blog on the educational policy website, […]

OU News